NYSE news : Bank of America

RECOMMENDATION


We rate BANK OF AMERICA CORP (BAC) a HOLD. The primary factors that have impacted our rating are mixed - some indicating strength, some showing weaknesses, with little evidence to justify the expectation of either a positive or negative performance for this stock relative to most other stocks. The company's strengths can be seen in multiple areas, such as its good cash flow from operations and expanding profit margins. However, as a counter to these strengths, we also find weaknesses including deteriorating net income, generally poor debt management and disappointing return on equity.

HIGHLIGHTS

Net operating cash flow has increased to $15,475.00 million or 43.10% when compared to the same quarter last year. In addition, BANK OF AMERICA CORP has also vastly surpassed the industry average cash flow growth rate of -32.89%.

The gross profit margin for BANK OF AMERICA CORP is rather high; currently it is at 59.50%. It has increased significantly from the same period last year. Regardless of the strong results of the gross profit margin, the net profit margin of 8.80% trails the industry average. BAC, with its decline in revenue, underperformed when compared the industry average of 0.4%. Since the same quarter one year prior, revenues fell by 13.1%. The declining revenue appears to have seeped down to the company's bottom line, decreasing earnings per share.
The debt-to-equity ratio is very high at 3.73 and currently higher than the industry average, implying that there is very poor management of debt levels within the company.

The company's current return on equity has slightly decreased from the same quarter one year prior. This implies a minor weakness in the organization. Compared to other companies in the Diversified Financial Services industry and the overall market on the basis of return on equity, BANK OF AMERICA CORP underperformed against that of the industry average and is significantly less than that of the S&P 500.

George Soros on US economy and China Rise

http://insider.thomsonreuters.com/link.html?ctype=groupchannel&chid=3&cid=143492&start=0&end=3685&shareToken=MzpmNDRmYjZjOS01NGIyLTQwMjItODk4Mi04OTM4M2ZlNTUxNDk%3D

Boustead Holding Berhad : Research

http://hotfile.com/dl/69282416/0e360eb/Boustead_14_Sep_2010.pdf.html

Buffett dismisses double-dip fear, media reports say

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Chairman Warren Buffett dismissed concern about a double-dip recession, while noting the businesses he oversees are recovering, according to media reports on Monday.

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http://www.marketwatch.com/story/buffett-dismisses-double-dip-fears-reports-say-2010-09-13

Niall Ferguson : Calling a double-dip is going too far

Sept. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Harvard University historian Niall Ferguson talks about the outlook for the U.S. and global economy. The August payrolls report may show the U.S. economy lost 105,000 jobs, the third straight monthly decline, according to the median forecast of 81 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Ferguson speaks in Cernobbio, Italy, with Francine Lacqua on Bloomberg Television's "Global Connection."

Marc Faber : Money will flow into equities and commodities at least over the next couple of weeks

In a phone interview from Thailand Marc Faber told Bloomberg that : "It is a fallacy to believe that easy money and the purchase of treasuries will boost economic activity in the US,"
"Money will flow into equities at least over the next couple of weeks, and into commodities," Faber added.
"Over the last two years we eased massively in the US and where did the growth take place? In Asia".
"So when we talk about job creation, do you think that Intel or a small businessman will hire more people in the US because of further monetary printing?" he asked.

"No! they will build factories in Asia and hire people in Asia and all the monetary policies in the US create mis-allocation of capital and unintended consequences," Faber explained.

Singapore Monthly Market Review

Market Review :-
The FSSTI advanced 5.4% in local terms in July. Higher beta stocks led the market recovery with property stocks outperforming the index. Defensive names such as ST Engineering and SMRT lagged and declined in absolute terms mom. The SGD strengthened 2.4% against the USD to end the month at 1.362. Singapore's 2Q advanced GDP rose 19.3 yoy, exceeding all expectations. This led the government to upgrade its 2010 GDP growth forecast to 13-15% from an earlier forecast of 7-9%. Growth was led by the manufacturing secotr which surged 45% yoy, including the volatile biomedical sector. Services showed double digit growth too, as the opening of the integrated resorts created record visitor arrivals.

Outlook:-
Residential property prices and transaction volumes moderated in the second quarter but show sign of picking up of late, with strong interest in some mass market condominium launches. The Singapore market is currently trading on a 14x earnings multiple which is slightly below its histroial mean.